Live action films aren’t the only forms of cinema that’ll send shivers up your spine, or make you afraid of the dark. No, we’ve got 6 horror anime that’ll absolutely scare the living hell out of you this spooky season.
Hell Girl (Jigoku Shōjo)
#1 of our 6 horror anime recommendations is: Hell Girl. Hell Girl is a unique anime in not only it’s plot, but that it was an anime before it was a manga. There are a total of 4 anime series (Hell Girl, Hell Girl: Two Mirrors, Hell Girl: Three Vessels, and Hell Girl: The Fourth Twilight).
Each episode typically follows the format of a self-contained short story where a person, for one reason or another (usually bullying/torment/assault), feels the need to contact the Hell Correspondence website. On this website, the user submits a person’s name and by doing this, the person whose name was typed, will be immediately taken to Hell to suffer for eternity. However, just submitting a name does not complete the contract. After typing a name, Ai Enma, the Hell Girl, will appear, and present the user with a doll that has a red string on its neck.
If/when the string is pulled, that is when Ai and her companions come to torment the antagonist and then ferry them to Hell. Once this is complete, a mark appears on the user, this is the price of the contract – now the user will get to live a full and normal life, but for making the request, they will also have to go to Hell when they die.
Another (Anazâ)
#2 of our 6 horror anime recommendations is: Another. Another is a Japanese mystery horror novel by Yukito Ayatsuj that was published on October 29, 2009. A manga adaptation by Hiro Kiyohara began in May 2010 and the anime debuted in January 2012.
Back in 1972, a popular student at Yomiyama North Middle School named Misaki, suddenly died partway through the school year. Devastated by the loss, the students and teacher of class 3-3 behaved as if Misaki was still alive, which lead to a strange presence in the graduation photo. Now, it’s the spring of 1998, and Kōichi Sakakibara is transferring into Yomiyama’s current class 3-3.
On his first day, he meets Mei Misaki, a quiet student with a peculiar eye patch, whom all of the students, and even teachers, ignore. Despite the warnings of his fellow classmates, Kōichi continues to talk to and interact with Mei. Soon, the entire class is caught up in a strange, supernatural phenomenon, which causes students and their relatives to begin to die one by one in gruesome ways. Kōichi and Mei discover that these deaths are connected to what happened in 1972. As it turns out, since 1972, a yearly calamity that has struck most every class 3-3. It’s up to Kōichi and Mei to figure out how what’s causing it and how to stop it before it kills anymore of their classmates or them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWhuNQpM9Ls
Parasyte -the maxim- (Kiseijū Sei no Kakuritsu)
#3 of our 6 horror anime recommendations is: Parasyte. Parasyte is a science fiction horror manga series from 1988, which was written and illustrated by Hitoshi Iwaaki. An anime series based on the manga titled, Parasyte -the maxim- (Kiseijū Sei no Kakuritsu) debuted October 9, 2014.
Parasyte focuses on Shinichi Izumi and his unlikely side-kick, his literal right hand, which is under the totally control of an alien Parasyte that he names “Migi” (the Japanese word for “right”). At the beginning, Shinichi is an average high school student. He lives with his mother and father in a quiet neighborhood in Tokyo, Japan, he’s a bit of a dork but he has friends and even a girl he likes. Totally normal kid.
Until one night, peculiar worm-like creatures appear on Earth. They look like your run-of-the-mill, gross, parasitic tapeworms. But instead of burrowing into your stomach (ew) and stealing your nutrients, these Parasytes go for your brain (more ew) where they completely take over the host. One of these Parasytes attempts to enter Shinichi’s body while he’s sleeping, but he wakes up and is able to present the Parasyte from entering his body past his arm.
Rather than his entire body, the Parasyte is only able to devour and become Shinichi’s right hand, which is where the “Migi” thing comes from. Even though he’s just a hand, Migi is sentient. He has a personality (though it’s cold and emotionless, initially), he can talk, and transform. The Parasyte people begin devouring other humans indiscriminately, even infiltrating high ranking government officials. Thus, Shinichi decides to take it upon himself and Migi to destroy them to keep his city and the people he loves, safe.
Elfen Lied
#4 of our 6 horror anime recommendations is: Elfen Lied. Elfen Lied is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Lynn Okamoto, which began in 2002. The anime series followed shortly after in 2004.
Elfen Lied takes place in modern Japan in the areas of Kamakura and Kanagawa. In the world of Elfen Lied though, a newly mutated species has emerged called “Diclonius”. Diclonius ultimately look like humans, the main noticeable difference is that they have horn-like protrusions on their heads. Unnoticeable though, are their “vectors,” which are invisible, telekinetic arms that vary in number depending on the Diclonius.
The main Diclonius we follow is Lucy. Lucy has spent most of her life in a locked down facility, isolated and subjected to numerous inhumane experiments. That all changes on the day she finally makes her escape – killing anyone who crosses her path without mercy.However, during her escape, she suffers an injury that causes her to revert to a childlike state with the only word she can say being, “Nyu.”
Two locals, Kouta and his cousin Yuka, fine Nyu and take her in, thinking she’s harmless due to this alter personality. Because of this though, Kouta and Yuka find themselves in constant danger from Special Assault Teams and other Diclonius coming after Lucy, at the behest of the lead scientist, Kurama. This pulls the Lucy personality back to the forefront as she fights for her own life, the lives of her newfound friends, and of course, her revenge.
Ghost Hunt
#5 of our 6 horror anime recommendations is: Ghost Hunt. Ghost Hunt, is a light novel series written by Fuyumi Ono followed by a radio drama series in 1997. A manga was later adapted in 1998 and was written and illustrated by Shiho Inada and the anime series debuted in October of 2006.
Ghost Hunt follows the ghost hunting adventures of first-year high school student, Mai Taniyama, who accidentally becomes involved with Shibuya Psychic Research (SPR) after she breaks a camera belonging to the young manager, Kazuya Shibuya, whom Mai nicknames “Naru” because of his narcissistic attitude. Throughout their ghost cases and with the help of Mai, the SPR slowly gains more members, this includes Buddhist monk Houshou Takigawa, shrine maiden Ayako Matsuzaki, celebrity teen psychic Masako Hara, and Catholic priest John Brown.
Each case is different (though cases may be spread across a couple episodes in parts) and during their escapades, these different characters explore their paranormal abilities. In particular there is focus on Mai, who seems normal but actually harbors latent psychic abilities that begin to grow stronger as time goes by.
Blood-C
#6 of our 6 horror anime recommendations is: Blood-C. Blood-C is an anime series from 2011. It’s the second series of the Blood franchise (the first being Blood+). It was adapted into two different manga series and also received a novelization that same year.
Although she shares the same first name as the protagonist of Blood+, the Saya of Blood-C, is a completely different character. Other than being set in a rural town off the shore of Lake Suwa, the world Saya lives in appears to be otherwise totally normal. Until you learn of the existence of Elder Bairns, monsters who feed on human blood and run rampant at night. Lucky for this town, Saya, as it turns out, is an incredibly skilled sword fighter and adept at killing these creatures.
However, as more Elder Bairns begin to appear and more of her loved ones die, Saya begins to uncover a terrible truth about not just herself, but the town and even the people in it. Important sidebar: the Elder Bairns were modeled after, not only traditional Japanese monsters, but the Elder Gods of H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos as well.
To check out these 6 horror anime and others this October, check out sites like Crunchyroll.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkfUcgXKiw0
